Cops are cracking down on a very old — and apparently very cheap — Boerum Hill hooker hot spot that residents say has been showing signs of life again.
Police said that after hearing complaints about streetwalkers sprouting up at the corner of Butler and Nevins streets, cops decided to set up a “John sting” at the location.
Their efforts were fruitful, although the men arrested were probably the most miserly prostitute purveyors in the city.
Sources said that they put just one female police officer at the corner posing as a prostitute during the early morning hours January 28.
Her appearance certainly drew some attention. In just two hours, four Johns rolled up to her, asking for her services.
Yet they weren’t offering much. After all, there’s a recession going on.
Two of the men, all of whom were between 35 and 60, offered the undercover cop $20 for her companionship and everything that came with it. A third man offered $15. The 60-year-old, obviously on a fixed budget, offered the lowest — just $10.
Police said that all four were ultimately taken into custody, charged with patronizing a prostitute, police said.
At least one woman — believed to be a streetwalker — found hanging out by the corner was arrested on the same night, but not for prostitution. Rather, she was taken into custody for drug possession, officials said.
Captain Kenneth Corey, the commanding officer of the 76th Precinct, said that Butler and Nevins has been an “on and off trouble spot for decades.”
“There’s a lot of warehouses over there,” he said. “It gets very desolate at night.”
He said that there had been no prostitution activity at the corner for some time until just recently, when nearby residents started making complaints.
One resident said that the prostitutes would hang out on his stoop as they waited for Johns to roll by.
“We investigate all quality of life complaints brought to us, so when we heard about prostitution problems at this corner, we conducted a sting,” said Corey, adding that similar stings are assured to be held randomly in the future.
